Buenos Aires by Peter

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Hello from Buenos Aires.

We arrived in Buenos Aires after a very long flight on Sunday Morning, 9th March 2008. We are staying in the San Telmo Region of the city. The last 5 days which we have spent exploring this great city have been a fantastic start to our 6 Month Trip. For Any of our friends who have told us how good the city is, all I can say is that we were certainly not disappointed. It really has been such a jam packed and exciting five days. There are many different faces Buenos Aires and there has not been a dull moment.

The Sunday fair in San Telmo was on when we arrived so we went straight to that. It was interesting to see the Tango Dancers in the street next to Antique stalls, live bands and street entertainers. Dorrego Square here is the centre of activities. Obvously sampling the steak (and wine) was high on the agenda so we went to a traditional Buenos Aires steak restaurant (El Desnivel) that evening. What can I say, it seems that the cows in Argentina benefit from having the sun on their back because the meat really is absolutely delicious. We have since sampled the beef in numerous other establishments and I can report that the quality is consistent...

The weather has been great (clear blue skies, hot but with a nice breeze) and we have visited all the different Barrios in Buenos Aires over the last few days. La Boca, Palermo, Las Canitas, Recoleto are all so different to each other and there has been so much to do and see in each place. Palermo was probably our favorite Barrio here, its such a cool place with loads of trendy restaurants, Bars and Shops. There is no doubt that the natives of Buenos Aires are very nice people and all encounters we have had with them have been pleasant. It is sad to see the poverty in some of the poorer areas and unfortunately Im sure that is something we will see more of on this trip.

On Tuesday evening we went to see a Tango Show. We booked the show through the hostel we are staying at and were assured that the show would be intimate and traditional. The show included a meal and a tango lesson and it really was a great evening. We have eaten like kings (well, Maire has eaten like a queen!) over here and Buenos Aires really is full of the best food ever. Its not just juicy steaks but all sorts of the best quality food. the traditional food Empanada has been eaten a good bit as a snack during the day. Everything in this city is such good value for Money and with the possible exception of La Boca it dosent feel touristy at all.

Weve met some nice people at the hostel and some of them have been coming form the places we are going to so it has been good to hear about these experiences.

I have ofter heard people say that Buenos Aires is like a European City and haven spent a short time here I can see where that comes from but there is no doubt that Buenos Aires very much stands out on its own as a very unique and original city and I hope that we get to visit more places like this on the trip. We will def be leaving here with a wonderful impression of the place. We Fly to Ushuaia in the morning, looking forward to that.

Hello to our families and friends at home.

Peter & Maire

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Photos

La Boca Neighbourhood
This barrio is best known for its football team, Boca Juniors, for whom the legendary Diego Maradona played, but also for its multi-coloured wooden and corrugated iron houses. The houses were built and painted by the resident dock-workers, of mainly Italian descent, who used leftover materials and paint from the ships. The most famous street, Calle Caminito, possesses the best of the painted houses and is where artists, street performers and tango dancers congregate daily.

Peter "Tango Dancing "
With my encouragement peter danced a few tango steps in La Boca

Comments

[jimi jazz]

pedro u dance the tango like al pacino in "scent of a woman"!